DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

E-Government

Christopher Leslie: As part of the Government's £675 million Local e-Government programme, established to help local authorities e-enable their service delivery by 2005, grant of up to £75 million has been earmarked for 2002–03 and 2003–04 to support a number of national projects. These projects will develop e-products and standards, such as the use of digital TV and on-line school admissions, and disseminate shared learning to other authorities.
	I am today laying before the House a Special Grant report containing powers for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to pay some £38.4 million of grant to support the development, running and sharing of good practice from the first 12 of these national projects, which will build upon the work done by the 25 e-Government Pathfinders already supported by the Local e-Government Programme.
	They also build on 108 local authority led projects funded under the Invest to save Budget. The Pathfinder projects have already helped to drive down the cost of key enabling technologies and will enable other local authorities across the country to utilise products that are both proven and tailored to meet the needs of local government.

Local Government Finance Settlement 2003–04

Nick Raynsford: I am today laying before the House the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2003–04. This report establishes the amounts of revenue support grant (RSG) and non-domestic rates (NDR) to be paid to local authorities in 2003–04 and the basis of their distribution. A draft of this report was issued for consultation on 5 December 2002. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received a total of 385 written representations within the consultation deadlines from the Local Government Association and the Association of London Government, from local authorities, local authority groups and hon. Members, and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister met with 55 delegations to discuss the proposals.
	Having considered the views of the local authority associations and others who have commented on my initial proposals, I have decided to confirm my proposals in most respects. I will make one substantive change to my original proposals on grant distribution methodology. I have decided that the Isle of Wight should receive the same area cost adjustment as Hampshire. I have accepted the argument that, on balance, the New Earnings Survey sample size for the Isle of Wight is such that their labour costs cannot be estimated with the same degree of precision as other, more populous, areas. The Isle of Wight sample size is no larger than other unitary, metropolitan or London boroughs that we have combined together in order to avoid small samples. By making the change I believe we are treating all authorities more consistently.
	In addition, as usual, the final figures published today reflect the more accurate date and resource totals that have become available since we published our proposals and also appropriate date corrections to reflect errors discovered by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or notified to us by local authorities.
	This year's settlement provides a good increase in money for local authorities. We are confirming that for the first time every local authority will receive at least an above inflation grant increase with most getting substantially more. This should allow councils to improve services while setting reasonable council tax increases. The Government have increased money for local councils by 25 per cent. in real terms since 1997.
	I shall be sending copies of this report and supporting material on the settlement to all authorities, together with tables showing each authority's Formula Spending shares and its entitlement to RSG and NDR. I have placed copies of the report in the Journal Office; and copies of the report, tables and the other supporting material in the Vote Office and the Library.
	I am also laying before the House the Local Government finance Report (England) 2001–2002; Amending Report 2003, which I also published for consultation on 5 December, and which I have decided not to alter. In addition, the Government are publishing today our response to the report of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee: Local Government Finance Formula Grant Distribution.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Fire Authority

Des Browne: Stage One of the Quinquennial Review of the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland has been completed and made available in the House of Commons Library and on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's website.
	The purpose of Stage One was to establish whether there was a continuing need for the functions provided by the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland, and if so, to consider a range of options for delivering those functions.
	The views of a wide range of stakeholders and interest groups, including some from outside Northern Ireland, were considered. These included the Fire Brigades Union, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, the Scottish Executive and the Department of Environment and Local Government in Dublin. Other options for delivering the functions, such as privatisation, contracting out/market testing, merger with another public body or reallocation of services to another public body, were examined. The review concluded that there was a continuing need for the functions provided by the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland and that these should continue to be provided by the fire authority as a non departmental public body. With specific reference to privatisation and merger, it was considered that the former could not meet the requirement for public accountability and, although the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service provided the best opportunity for the latter, it was considered that at present there was too great a diversity of issues facing each organisation to allow for a successful merger.
	Stage Two of the review, which will begin shortly, will examine how the authority operates and relates to the fire brigade and the Department and make recommendations on how the delivery of its functions might be improved. I will inform the House of the outcome.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Strategic National Guidance

John Denham: The Strategic National Guidance on the Decontamination of People exposed to Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear Substances or Material, for use by the emergency services and other responders, has today been placed on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk) and United Kingdom Resilience website (www.ukresilience.info). The guidance may be downloaded from those sites and I am also placing a copy in the Library.
	The guidance will be updated periodically and these updates will be available on the Home Office and United Kingdom Resilience websites.

Police Authorities Grant

John Denham: I have today placed in the Library a copy of the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2003–04 (HC 270). The Report sets out my determination for 2003–04 of the aggregate amount of grants that I propose to pay under section 46(2) of the Police Act 1996, and the amount to be paid to each police authority and to the Greater London Authority for the Metropolitan Police Authority.
	Allocations for each police authority for financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04 are set out in the table.
	
		
			 Police Authority 2002–2003 2003–2004 % Change 
			  Allocation  1 , 4 Allocation  1  
			  £m £m  
		
		
			 English Shire forces  
			 Avon & Somerset 152.4 157.1 3.1% 
			 Bedfordshire 57.5 60.1 4.6% 
			 Cambridgeshire 67.7 71.1 5.0% 
			 Cheshire 99.0 103.9 4.9% 
			 Cleveland 80.1 84.1 5.0% 
			 Cumbria 55.8 57.7 3.4% 
			 Derbyshire 95.0 97.9 3.1% 
			 Devon & Cornwall 156.7 161.5 3.0% 
			 Dorset 59.7 61.6 3.0% 
			 Durham 77.8 81.5 4.9% 
			 Essex 151.3 155.9 3.0% 
			 Gloucestershire 55.3 57.0 3.0% 
			 Hampshire 179.0 184.5 3.1% 
			 Hertfordshire 4 98.6 101.5 3.0% 
			 Humberside 106.0 110.9 4.6% 
			 Kent 171.6 176.8 3.0% 
			 Lancashire 168.8 177.1 4.9% 
			 Leicestershire 94.5 98.8 4.5% 
			 Lincolnshire 57.0 58.7 3.0% 
			 Norfolk 76.7 79.6 3.7% 
			 North Yorkshire 68.3 70.4 3.0% 
			 Northamptonshire 59.3 62.2 5.0% 
			 Nottinghamshire 118.5 123.6 4.3% 
			 Staffordshire 102.7 105.8 3.0% 
			 Suffolk 62.0 63.9 3.1% 
			 Surrey 4 82.9 85.4 3.0% 
			 Sussex 148.6 153.1 3.0% 
			 Thames Valley 199.8 205.9 3.0% 
			 Warwickshire 46.8 48.2 3.0% 
			 West Mercia 101.3 104.4 3.0% 
			 Wiltshire 56.8 58.7 3.2% 
			   
			  English Metropolitan forces 
			 Greater Manchester 362.8 380.8 4.9% 
			 Merseyside 229.1 240.5 5.0% 
			 Northumbria 204.2 214.3 5.0% 
			 South Yorkshire 164.2 172.3 5.0% 
			 West Midlands 368.3 386.5 4.9% 
			 West Yorkshire 275.8 289.4 4.9% 
			 London forces 
			 GLA-all functions 5 1926.8 2022.1 4.9% 
			 City of London 2 29.8 32.5 9.1% 
			 English Total 6668.8 6957.2 4.3% 
			 
			 Welsh forces 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3 47.9 49.3 3.0% 
			 Gwent 3 66.7 69.6 4.3% 
			 North Wales 3 70.2 73.4 4.5% 
			 South Wales 3 158.3 163.0 3.0% 
			 Welsh Total 343.0 355.2 3.6% 
			   
			 TOTAL 7011.8 7312.4 4.3% 
		
	
	Notes 1. Rounded to the nearest £100,000. Grant as calculated under the Local Government Finance Report (England) and Local Government Finance Report (Wales). This includes the Metropolitan Police special payment, and the effects of floors and ceilings. 2. Figures for the City are Police grant only. 3. Figures for Welsh authorities for 2002–2003 are reduced due to the appropriate amount of the £266,000 council tax penalty to the Treasury. 4. The figures above do not include the special payments for transitional costs associated with changes to the boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District from 1 April 2000. 5. The overall increase for GLA is 4.9 per cent. This includes provision for Metropolitan Police and other funded services. 6. "Floor" and "ceiling" increases of 3 per cent. and 4.9 per cent. respectively have been applied. There are minor variations arising from inclusion of capital charges.

TRANSPORT

Strategic Rail Authority

Alistair Darling: I am today laying before Parliament a minute in respect of a proposed comfort letter from my Department to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).
	A statement of the Secretary of State's intentions in relation to funding the SRA is needed to enable the SRA to obtain a strong public credit rating. This in turn is needed to enable Network Rail to obtain a strong credit rating so that it can raise finance efficiently. Network Rail's rating is dependent on the SRA's rating, in view of the financial arrangements between them, which were minuted to Parliament on 27 June 2002.
	The comfort letter summarises the status of the SRA, the Secretary of State's role in funding the SRA, and the implications for the SRA's ability to meet its financial obligations. It does not create any new or binding obligations.

TREASURY

Landfill Tax Credit Scheme

John Healey: The Government announced in the 2002 Pre-Budget Report that they would be reforming the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) from 1 April 2003. Approximately two/thirds of the funding currently going through the scheme, under objects C and CC, will be allocated to additional public spending on sustainable waste management. The Government are responsible for this spending within England while the Devolved Administrations have responsibility for spending within their countries.
	The LTCS successor scheme in the UK
	The Government will continue to make available approximately a third of the funding that is currently going through the landfill tax credit scheme, around £47 million per year, for spending on community environmental non-category C or CC projects through a successor tax credit scheme.
	Ongoing waste projects
	Contributions by landfill site operators under the existing tax credit scheme can continue to be made to waste projects until 31 March 2003. This funding can continue to be allocated and spent by environmental bodies from 1 April 2003 until either the projects are complete or the funding is spent.
	Initial advice issued by HM Customs and Excise on 20 December 2002 sets this out in more detail. (This advice is available at http://www.hmce.gov.uk/business/othertaxes/ltcs-info-note.pdf).
	Contributions made on or after 1 April 2003 will no longer be able to be allocated to waste management or recycling projects.
	The Government wish to ensure a smooth transition to the new spending programme with the minimum disruption for existing waste and recycling projects.
	In England, the Government will therefore provide for a transitional period of funding for ongoing projects beyond 31st March 2003, provided they meet all the eligibility criteria set out below, and subject to any constraints resulting from EU state aid rules. The responsibility for this funding arrangement will lie with DEFRA. The Devolved Administrations are making their own arrangements for spending of the resources released from the reform of the LTCS.
	In implementing this transitional funding arrangement, the Government are putting in place a straightforward process for making decisions on funding to ensure minimum delay and uncertainty for ongoing projects. By establishing this transitional funding period the Government are providing a reasonable period for projects to manage the consequences of the decision announced in the Pre-Budget Report.
	Eligibility criteria for transitional funding
	Projects will need to meet all of the criteria below in order to be eligible for transitional funding.
	Eligible projects must fall into objects C or CC (covering research, development, education or information about sustainable waste management or research, development, education or information about market development for recycled waste) of the LTCS.
	Projects must be registered with the LTCS regulator, Entrust.
	Project operators must have a written agreement to receive LTCS funding for work currently being carried out on the project from either a Distributive Environmental Body (DEB) or landfill operator on 3 February 2003.
	Projects must have a shortfall in funding during 2003–04 beyond that which has been committed through the written agreement with a DEB or landfill operator.
	The project operator must have been expecting to have received further funding through landfill tax credits in the period 2003–04 in order to continue or complete the project within that period, as set out in the project's plans.
	Projects must be based in England.
	During the period of transitional funding, project operators will need to:
	show how projects are performing against the project's objectives;
	ensure that any best practice learnt through projects is disseminated; and
	show how projects are aiding reduction of tonnages of waste to landfill, where this is an appropriate measure.
	Period of funding
	This transitional arrangement will be limited to one year, from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004. Eligible projects will be considered for funding to cover ongoing commitments during 2003–04 for which they would otherwise have expected to have received funding from landfill operators or DEBs through the LTCS. Projects continuing thereafter will need to secure alternative sources of funding.
	The Government will confirm their plans for the rest of the funding which will be reallocated to public spending from 2003–04 and beyond as soon as they are able to do so, including the extent to which prospective waste or recycling projects that contribute significantly to the Government's sustainable waste management strategy may be considered for support. Contacts and process for determining applications for transitional funding
	Administration of the transitional funding application process will be carried out by Entrust on behalf of DEFRA. Project operators wishing to be considered for transitional funding for ongoing projects beyond 31 March 2003 should contact Entrust.
	Early applications would be welcome and all applications for funding should be made to Entrust by 31 March 2003. An application form for this purpose will be available from the Entrust web site (www.entrust.org.uk) shortly. Decisions on the provision of transitional funding to projects will be made as rapidly as possible.
	These arrangements will only apply to projects based in England.
	Enquiries should be addressed to:
	LTCS Transition Helpline: 0161 972 0203
	Fax: 0161 972 0055
	email: transition@entrust.org.uk
	web: www.entrust.org.uk
	Post: Transition Fund, ENTRUST, Acre House, 2 Town Square, Sale, M33 7WZ
	The continuing tax credit scheme
	Landfill site operators are able to claim a credit worth 90 per cent. of any qualifying contribution to the landfill tax credit scheme. This is currently subject to a maximum credit of 20 per cent. of their annual landfill tax liability. From 1 April this year that figure will be revised from 20 per cent. to 6.5 per cent. This will cap the value of the scheme that will make funding available to local environmental projects at approximately £47 million, in line with the announcement made in the Pre-Budget Report 2002, ensuring that the current level of funding for these types of project is maintained. The funding available for these types of projects will be kept broadly constant in real terms and the percentage figure for the maximum proportion of landfill tax liability which landfill operators may allocate to projects will be subject to review in future years accordingly.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Licensing Bill

Tessa Jowell: Following further consideration and consultation with faith groups, the Government has tabled an amendment to the Licensing Bill that would exempt secular entertainment provided in places of public religious worship and the provision of
	entertainment facilities in such places from the need to obtain a licence under the Bill when it is enacted. Music for the purposes of or incidental to a religious service or meeting is already exempt.
	The exemption reflects the current position outside Greater London. Within Greater London, the provision of secular entertainment at places of public worship has for many years been licensable. The amendment the Government has tabled will add further to the deregulatory measures already contained in the Bill.
	The Government also wish to make plain its intention to exempt church halls, chapel halls or other similar buildings occupied in connection with a place of public religious worship, and village halls, parish or community halls or other similar buildings from the fees associated with the provision of entertainment or entertainment facilities under the licensing regime.
	Use of such premises to put on entertainment will still require a licence as such provision can and does give rise to issues of nuisance, public safety and crime and disorder. However, the Bill provides for a streamlined and straightforward licensing scheme with minimum bureaucracy. In addition, the guidance to be issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, under the Bill will make it clear that conditions attached to any licences for such premises must be proportionate to the risks involved, which are likely to be minimal in most cases.
	Where a premises licence authorises the sale of alcohol in premises of this nature, however, the normal licence fee will be payable. This is entirely in line with existing arrangements. In addition, those wishing to use village, church and parish halls, and other community buildings will all be able to take advantage of the simple and easy notification procedure that the Bill provides for temporary events.
	The precise details of the fee structure will be the subject of consultation with interested parties.
	The Government hopes that religious institutions, music societies and other community groups will derive great benefit from the exemptions and that the initiative will further strengthen our drive to increase the diversity of cultural experience available to people and communities throughout England and Wales. Furthermore, the exemptions will bolster the measures already contained in the Bill that are designed to foster live music by opening up even further the opportunities for musicians to perform.